LYS Podcast Episode 1
Summary We are introduced to Amanda Morrison, the host of the Leap Year Society podcast, and Michelle "Mitch" Sorrenson, the producer of the podcast and Amanda's friend. The podcast focuses on two main areas: a conversation with a former member of the Bullingdon Club in Oxford and information regarding the Leap Year Society discovered by Amanda and Michelle when researching for the podcast. The conversation with the Bullingdon Club member centers around the member's friend. This friend, also a member, was invited into an even more selective society within the Bullingdon Club and, after meeting with a woman referred to as a Dark Spy, completely disappeared from school. The man eventually saw this friend years later, but the friend had changed and refused to acknowledge him. The man ominously believes that not only is this Dark Spy the reason why his friend is different, but also that Dark Spies are everywhere and their influence is far-reaching. Separately, Amanda and Mitch turned up an article regarding a meeting of some of the world's sharpest minds on February 29, 1888. They believe this is the first ever meeting of the "Leap Year Society". However, upon hearing this information in a rough draft of the first episode of the podcast, the producers refused to move forward unless all mention of The Leap Year Society, its meeting and its members were removed. When Amanda and Mitch refused, not only was the podcast shelved, but the entire subsidiary of the podcast network that was responsible for producing the podcast was shut down. This caused Amanda and Mitch to start from scratch and narrow its focus from secret societies as a whole to the Leap Year Society, giving us the podcast in its current form. Transcript of LYS Podcast: Episode 1 -intro music- AMANDA MORRISON: The Wikipedia entry for ‘Secret Society’ reads as follows: ‘A Secret Society is a club or an organization whose activities, events, inner functioning or membership are concealed from non-members. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence agencies or guerilla insurgencies, that hide their activities and memberships but maintain a public presence. The exact qualifications for labeling a group as a secret society are disputed, but definitions generally rely on the degree to which the organization insists on secrecy. It might involve the retention and transmission of secret knowledge, the denial about membership or knowledge of the group, the creation of personal bonds between members of the organization, and the use of secret rites or rituals.’ So, that’s what the term Secret Society means to Wikipedia.” -cut to what sounds like interviews on the street- AM: What does the term secret society mean to you? Interviewee 1: Didn’t they put somethin’ in the Mona Lisa, like a secret message or a map? Interviewee 2: I know Colonel Sanders is one of their leaders. They met every 5th of July in secret. Interviewee 3: Sure there are secret societies. They read old rituals and wear funny hats. But it’s not the secret societies we need to be afraid of. AM: No? Interviewee 3: Aw no, it’s those people beneath the surface who operate with impunity. They’re hiding in plain sight. I-it’s those people we need to be worried about, it’s those people who really run the government. Interviewee 4: My cousins Irish. He told me that the Freemasons still rule the world. For sure. -cut back to studio- AM: Youre listening to the Leap Year Society. I’m Amanda Morrison. Stay with us. -music- AM: The Illuminati, Skull and Bones, the Philomaths, the Freemasons, the Thule and the Seven Society…there are as many secret societies as there are legends about their birth. For example, the identity of the members of the University of Virginia’s infamous secret club, the Seven Society, are only revealed after their deaths when a wreath of black magnolia in the shape of a seven is placed at their grave site. The only known method of contacting the Seven Society is to place a letter at the Thomas Jefferson statue inside the University’s historic rotunda. Accounts differ on the exact placement of the letter, but rumor has it that if you place it either on the base or in the crook of the statue’s arm and the society finds your request worthy, you’ll get a response. One of the most interesting of all of these secret societies were the Rosicrucians, a mysterious group whose doctrine allegedly involved learning the deep secrets of the world. It’s generally believed that the Rosicrucians were more of a spiritual brother- or sister-hood that an actual secret society and that, like a great many things in politics and culture, sometimes the idea of the thing itself is more than enough to generate real change. The Bavarian illuminati were an Enlightment-era secret society founded on the 1st of May, 1776. Their goals were noble: to oppose superstition, obscuritism, religious influence over public life, and abuses of state power. They were plagued by infighting involving their agenda, their connection to the Freemasons, and other interpersonal conflicts among the various factions’ leaders. The Illuminati may have collapsed when they began expanding their interests into the world of politics, losing members and eventually fading into obscurity. The Rosicrucians may have never existed in the way they’re often portrayed – wearing robes, chanting, and performing strange arcane rituals – but most historians agree that on paper both the Illuminati and the Rosicrucians had positive effect on culture. Their belief that science, art, alchemy and mysticism led to enlightenment, influenced scholars, world leaders and others in a significantly positive way. But, what if there was another kind of secret society? A group that wasn’t quite so dysfunctional politically. A secret society somewhat similar to the Rosicrucians, but far more secretive. So secretive in fact that most people believe they don’t actually exist. What if one of these secret societies was at work behind the scenes today? What would that look like? Would they be innocuous or perhaps even altruistic? Or would their interests tend more to the financial, more to self-preservation or self-interest? We’ll get back to what a secret society might look like now in a moment but, right now, we’re heading back in time to 1888. As our world was nearing the end of the 19th century, it was a time of great change and churning cultural significance. In London, the Whitechapel Murders began, a series of murders that would eventually give us the infamous Jack the Ripper. The Hatfield’s and Mccoy’s were wrapping up their feud in a series of bloody murders in Appalachia. Edward King, an English bishop, is prosecuted for using ritualistic practices. And thirty-three explorers and scientists from all over the world gathered at the Cosmos Club in Washington DC to organize a society for the increase and diffusion of geographical knowledge, the National Geographic Society. But there was another meeting, a more secret and selective meeting – if the rumors are to be believed – that took place in 1888. This meeting also included explorers and scientists but this group wasn’t strictly limited to explorers and scientists. There were artists, musicians, philosophers, theologians and poets in attendance as well. The guest list of people who attended this very exclusive meeting in 1888 represented a wide range of ethnicities as well. They came from all over the world – from Asia, Africa, South America, Scandinavia and, unlike the original 33 members of the National Geographic Society, the members of this group weren’t strictly male. More than half of those who attended this particular meeting were female. There is something else unique about this group that allegedly met in England in 1888. According to an article published near the end of the 19th century in an English journal called the Athenaeum, almost every person who attended that meeting belonged to one of the groups that I mentioned earlier in the show: the Illuminati, Freemasons, Rosicrucians and, in one case, a secretive branch of the Catholic church. So, what were these scientists, artists, philosophers and explorers – most of them members of secret societies – up to in England in 1888? Well, in order to help answer that question, I’ve recruited my best friend and the producer of this podcast, Michelle Sorrenson. We call her Mitch. Stay with us. I promise…we’ll eventually get back to London England in 1888.” AM: So tell us a little bit about yourself and how we ended up here in this studio talking about secret societies. MICHELLE (MITCH) SORRENSON: Uh, ok, well, uh, my name is Michelle Sorrenson. AM: But, we can call you Mitch. MS: You can definitely call me Mitch. AM: Great! MS: Ok, so my degree is in medieval history with a minor in existential philosophy. AM: Pretty much the best combination when it comes to job hunting after college. MS: Ha ha…right. AM: What else? MS: Uh, well, I am a card-carrying member of the conspiracy of the week club, I love true crime, and I am addicted to podcasts. AM: Mm-hmm, which is why we’re here. MS: Yes. And this feels like a perfect time to turn the tables and tell the audience a little about you. AM: I’m the one doing the hosting here, Mitch. MS: Amanda Morrison, graduated from the University of Washington with a journalism degree, did her masters at Columbia (full ride scholarship), moved to Montreal for a few years to teach at McGill and now she’s hanging with her best friend in the entire world here in the Bay Area making this very podcast. AM: (Laughs) Mostly right. MS: What did I miss? AM: A year and a half struggling through an unfinished novel that upon further reflection will definitely remain unfinished, a false start as a business reporter for an NPR affiliate in the Midwest and well, maybe that’s enough for now. MS: Ha…so, uh, let’s talk briefly about what we had planned for this podcast, what we set out to do at the beginning, and how we planned on doing it. AM: Ok, well, we decided we were going to be looking into the existence and purpose of secret societies with a focus on one very particular group. MS: Right, and our approach was going to be a bit…different. AM: Yes. Please explain. MS: Ok, so rather than simply digging into this material from an NPR or investigative journalism point of view – AM: Although we’re definitely committed to remaining professional and investigative, right? MS: – of course. But, one of the things that I find exciting about the world of contemporary podcasting is the point of view of the host. AM: Right. MS: I’m a big fan of Marc Maron’s WTF podcast and a number of other interviewers who take a more personal approach to the subjects they cover. AM: Without overtly and irritatingly inserting themselves into the narrative, of course. MS: Of course. AM: When you originally pitched me on this show and told me that you wanted me to host, I was – concerned. MS: Do you remember your biggest worry? AM: That it would become some kind of navel-gazing look into my day-to-day life, what I had for breakfast, my favorite brand of coffee, listener mail… MS: Hey…we might still do listener mail. AM: I’m totally fine with listener mail! I…hope we get some actually. That would be awesome. MS: So, we agreed that we wanted to do something different. AM: And then, we just needed to choose a subject. MS: In a way, the subject kind of chose us. AM: Right. So, let’s go back to the beginning. MS: I was approached to pilot a show for a brand new offshoot of a relatively well-known podcast network that, at the moment, we are not legally allowed to name. AM: Right. And because I did some voiceover acting in college and because I’m your best friend and super fun to hang out with, you called me to host. MS: Correct. AM: Our mutual obsession with secret societies and religion led us to what would become our first topic. MS: Secret societies and their effect, if any, on our contemporary world. AM: Right. Were the current Freemasons simply Shriners with their funny hats and a cool secret handshake? Or…was there more? MS: And what was really going on at Yale with the Skull and Bones? AM: Right! We had a pretty clear setup and thesis going in and I think we did a great job on that first episode. MS: Agreed. But then something happened. Something that changed everything. AM: It sure did. MS: I think we should lay this out as simply as we possibly can. AM: Right. So, first things first. We began recording the pilot episode of our podcast for that new subsidiary of that well-known podcast network. MS: We decided that we were going to focus our first season on secret societies, where they began, and what they looked like now. AM: Our first episode was meant to be an overview, a – a teaser of things to come. MS: And it, uh, didn’t take long for things to get…weird. AM: The first strange thing that happened was an email. From somebody calling themselves the Protector of Truth? MS: R-right but, didn’t you meet the conspiracy guy from London first? AM: That’s right. I recorded him on the train. MS: A recording we didn’t believe we were allowed to use for legal reasons, however, I’ve since learned that because we didn’t include all of that recording in our original pilot, we can use any sections we didn’t use here on this show. -voiceover- AM: So, right now, we’re going to play a portion of that recording. I recorded this on my phone so you’ll have to forgive the poor radio fidelity. -cut to recording- AM: Thank you for agreeing to meet with me. UNKNOWN MAN: I don’t have much time. AM: You sure I can’t take you for coffee or lunch or something? UM: No. AM: Ok, so what can you tell me about these people, the – what did you call them – the Dark Spies? UM: The Dark Spies have their eyes and hands in everything. AM: You told me that you didn’t think they were Illuminati. UM: They’re not. A-at least not anymore. AM: What do you mean? UM: I mean, there used to be rules. That they couldn’t make contact. But now they’re everywhere. Watching, waiting. AM: Like I mentioned on the phone, I’m looking into the secret societies of the past and what memberships in those organizations might mean now…the Illuminati, Freemasons and perhaps those societies that sprung up around our local educational institutions. UM: The Bullingdon Club. AM: You mentioned that you were a member? UM: That’s right. -voiceover - AM: Founded around 1780, the Bullingdon Club of Oxford university is an exclusive boys’ club with a reputation for excessive drunkenness and vandalism. Allegedly, only the most elite members of English society are invited to join, and that is only after an extensive hazing period. -cut back to recording- AM: What can you tell me about the Bullingdon Club? UM: They’re not what you think. AM: My understanding is that they’re a bunch of guys who like to drink. UM: That’s precisely what they want you to think. AM: So what’s really going on? UM: There’s another level. AM: What do you mean? UM: I mean…they took my best friend. AM: How do you mean, took him? UM: The others. AM: Wh-what others? UM: Th-the group within the group. AM: I’m…not sure I understand. UM: Within the club, there’s another more exclusive group. The best and brightest. If you’re selected, you’re – well – something happens. AM: And were you selected for this more exclusive group? UM: No. AM: Your best friend? UM: They took him away. AM: Kidnapped? UM: No it wasn’t that. It was more…gradual. AM: Ok. UM: First, he stopped hanging out with his friends. Then it was changing classes, spending less time on campus and finally, he just disappeared. AM: And you have no idea what happened to him? UM: His family lived in Russia and he didn’t tell any of his other friends what he was planning or where he was going. AM: The university…surely he must have told Oxford where he was going. He wouldn’t just drop out, would he? UM: We tried to get information out of Oxford but they were extremely tight-lipped to the point of – oh well, with all the runaround – I felt like some kind of conspiracy. AM: Did you ever see him again? UM: Yes. AM: When? UM: Three years later in France. I was in Geneva, attending a series of conferences on quantum mechanics. I was in a café, killing time between speakers when I saw my friend. AM: In Geneva? UM: Yes. He was walking with a group of scientists. They were part of a group of researchers working on some kind of top secret project there. I rushed up and I was so happy to see his face, I embraced him. AM: What did he say? Did he tell you what happened? Why he disappeared? UM: No. He told me that I was mistaken, that he wasn’t my friend, and that he’d never met me before in his life. AM: Is it possible you were mistaken? UM: No, it’s not. AM: So you think he pretended not to recognize you? UM: He recognized me. AM: What do you think happened? UM: I know what happened. He was different. He’d been changed. He was working for…them. AM: And you’re sure that he’d been a member of this more exclusive society back in Oxford? UM: Yes, it’s something we all understood. AM: Does this secret group have a name? UM: I don’t know. AM: You told me on the phone that you discovered something while looking into what happened to your friend? UM: The Dark Spies. AM: Right. And you believe that your friend from Oxford was somehow connected to these Dark Spies. UM: I looked him up after I ran into him. He changed his name but it WAS him. I took his picture to our friends from university. AM: And did they recognize him? UM: Of course. AM: What happened next? UM: Nothing. Eh, they told me that a man changed his name…happens all the time. AM: Did you try and get in touch with him again? UM: Yeah, but it didn’t do me any good. AM: But you kept looking into this group within the Bullingdon Club? UM: Yes, and I eventually found one of their former members willing to speak with me. It was the one who’d admitted my friend all those years ago. AM: And? What did he tell you? UM: He told me that their exclusive little group was nothing really special or sinister. It just had better wine, scotch and cigars. AM: Wow, ha. That’s not where I thought this was headed. UM: But there was something else. There was somebody, a woman at one of their meetings. AM: I thought it was men only. UM: The Bullingdon Club, yes officially. But there was allegedly a special guest at one of the smaller group’s meetings. AM: A woman? UM: A Dark Spy. The Dark Spy responsible for what happened to my friend. AM: How do you mean? UM: I mean, the person who’d invited my fiend to that special meeting told me that the woman spoke with my friend and only my friend, and that he followed her out of the meeting and never returned to either the Bullingdon Club or Oxford University. AM: Any idea where I might be able to find this woman? UM: No. although I think you might have been looking in the wrong places. AM: What do you mean? UM: I mean, based on our earlier conversation on the phone, you’re looking at hidden basements, secret corridors, shady corners and dimly-lit attics. AM: Right? UM: With people like these, where you need to be looking is right out in the open. The Dark Spies are everywhere. -voiceover- AM: Sinister, right? Well, it got us looking into the Bullingdon Club and its origins and, after sifting through loads of late 19th century English publications, we eventually landed on an article published in 1888 in a journal called the Athenaeum. 1888 is the year that, when written in Roman numerals, has the most digits. It was also the year Van Gogh cut off part of his ear. And it was something else, of course. 1888 was a leap year. We’ll get to that, but first... -back to conversation between Amanda and Mitch- MS: Could you describe what happened? AM: Well, as you know, we had handed in an early edit of the show, one that didn’t actually include mention of that meeting that took place in 1888. MS: We had approval and we were all set to launch. We had sponsors and a firm release date with that rather well-known podcast and radio network. AM: And then, we met that English guy. MS: And discovered that article in the English journal called the Athenaeum. AM: The article about the secret meeting that reputedly took place in England in 1888. MS: An article that also included a list of names, the members of those other secret societies in attendance. AM: Our producers loved the show and we were all set. MS: And then, suddenly? They didn’t love it. AM: They asked for changes. Specifically, we were told to pull any reference to that meeting in 1888 and its attendees. MS: And when we refused? AM: They pulled the plug. MS: We were told it was budgetary, but…it wasn’t. AM: And then they shuttered the entire brand new, ready-to-launch subsidiary of that well-known podcast network. MS: The subsidiary that included our show. AM: Something else that was interesting…within hours of our delivering the rough cut of that first episode to our producers, the deep web site featuring that article from the Athenaeum press was gone. -voiceover- AM: So, what were the best and brightest members of the world’s most selective secret societies doing in a small church in the English countryside in 1888? Well, perhaps the date will provide a hint. The date of that meeting was February 29, 1888…a leap year. I believe that meeting, on February 29, 1888, was the very first meeting of the Leap Year Society. -outro- AM: You’ve been listening to the Leap Year Society. I’m Amanda Morrison. Thank you for listening. We’ll be back next week with another episode. Remember, you can join the investigation and find all of the links, images, and videos mentioned in our podcast on our website, lyspodcast.com. The Leap Year Society podcast is produced by Michelle Sorrenson and me, Amanda Morrison. Researched by Colin Orry. Special thanks to Terry Miles at Minnow Beats Whale Productions. If you like the Leap Year Society, show us by visiting the lyspodcast.com and please make sure to rate and review the show. Certain scenes have been reenacted to protect the identities of those involved. Thank you for listening to the Leap Year Society. -music- AM: Tanis is a docudrama podcast about an ancient and mysterious myth, perhaps the last genuine mystery of the information age. Tanis is what happens when the lines of science and fiction start to blur. So, download the podcast the Guardian calls ‘compelling and wildly addictive’ on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you listen. Tanis is like a cross between Serial, Lost and an Andrei Tarkovsky film. Tanis…it’s television for your ears. Notes Skull and Bones is a real secret society for undergraduate seniors at Yale University. The Philomaths were a Polish secret student organization that existed from 1817 to 1823 at the Imperial University of Vilnius. The Thule Society was a German occultist group founded in Munich right after World War I. The Bullingdon Club is indeed an all-male dining club at Oxford University, but it is not officially recognized by the University.